Our aim to unite India. to establish a national socialist government to establish equal rights among all religion , caste , region
I'm not sure what dumb Hindus are
waiting for. Congress is banning our
religious activities in areas where
Hindus are minorities in India and
Hindus are sitting in their homes
watching movies of Khans. We need
to tore into congress govt and make
sure we all stand united against this
Italian rule!
Rinkle Kumari's case was one of the
many incidents of conversion in
Pakistan, but relentless struggle by
the Hindu community has brought it
into the limelight, says Tahir Ali
The Hindu community in Pakistan will
be keenly watching the Supreme
Court trial that starts on Monday to
decide the fate of Rinkle Kumari -- a
19-year-old girl who was allegedly
kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam
and then forced to marry a Muslim
boy.
Though the forcible conversion of
Hindu girls to Islam is nothing new in
Pakistan, Rinkle's case has received
much national and international
publicity.
The Hindu community is optimistic of
a positive outcome to the trial.
Rinkle was allegedly abducted in
Mirpur Mathelo, a small town in
interior Sindh on February 24. She
had recently completed her
intermediate studies and was
planning to visit Karachi to shop for
her brother's wedding.
Initially, Rinkle was reported missing
but she soon emerged with her
husband Naveed Shah, and
supported by a large number of
armed Pakistan Peoples Party activists.
Rinkle, who changed her name to
Faryal Shah, announced to the media
that she had embraced Islam and
married Naveed Shah of her own free
will.
"I got married and converted to Islam
of my free will," Rinkle revealed to a
court in Sindh.
But neither her family nor the rest of
the Hindu community believed the
revelation of the girl, as such forcible
conversions have become a common
practice in interior Sindh. In the last
four months, 47 cases of abductions
of Hindu girls have been reported in
Sindh.
Members of the Hindu community
alleged that the policemen
investigating the case and the judges
of the court were under pressure
from PPP lawmakers. They claimed
that the civil judge, instead of allowing
the girl to go with her parents, sent
her to Daral-Aman where she was
mentally pressurised to give a
statement in favour of her husband.
She was not allowed to meet her
parents.
Nand Lal, Rinkle's father, is a primary
school teacher. According to him, his
daughter had no relations with
Naveed Shah and could not possibly
have eloped with him.
"She did not even know the person.
We have no internet or telephone
connection at home, so there is no
way she could have been in touch
with Naveed," said Nand Lal.
He added, "If she had planned to
elope, she would have taken her
slippers and her sweater along with
her. But she was kidnapped barefoot
and without any warm clothes,
despite the cold weather."
Veerji Kohli, a human rights activist,
told rediff.com , "Forcible conversion is
the easiest way to marry a Hindu girl;
this practice is explicitly related to
Islamic fundamentalists but it is a tool
used by Muslims in this particular
region to marry a young Hindu girl
without any problem. For a pretty
Hindu girl, her beauty becomes her
enemy. She is likely to be kidnapped,
followed by forcible conversion and
marriage to a Muslim man."
Kohli blames PPP member of
parliament Mian Abdul Haq alias Mian
Mitho and his family members for the
abduction and conversion of Rinkle.
"PPP activists are openly supporting
Naveed Shah. Even the son of Mian
Mitho was present in court when the
couple was brought there. Naveed
Shah's family is very close to Mina
Mitho," said Veerji.
Pir Ayub Jan Sarhandi from Umarkoot,
a leading cleric, has always been
blamed for his role in the forcible
conversion of Hindu girls. Members of
the Hindu community allege that the
Pir often provided shelter to people
who took away their girls and then
organised their marriages. Pir
Sarhandi also proudly claimed that he
has converted nearly 10,000 Hindu
women. But his name has not been
mentioned in connection with this
particular incident.
Members of the Hindu community
allege that Mian Mitho's family
members were openly supporting the
abductor and his men were involved
in the kidnapping of Rinkle.
The conversion of Hindu women has
exposed the community to the most
extreme level of social humiliation and
cultural stigma. Hundreds of Hindu
women have been converted to Islam
in Sindh. Though in some cases Hindu
women have converted of their own
will, the rate of forcible conversion
remains high.
According to minister of state for
national harmony Akram Masih Gill,
'sexual lust' is the key reason that
makes Muslim men force non-Muslim
girls to convert.
"Hindu girls are being sexually abused
by young Muslim men, who force
them to convert when their sexual
offence became an issue in society.
Those young people accept such girls
as their legal wives with the pre-
condition that they embrace Islam.
The girls are kidnapped by young men
and after meeting their sexual desires,
they are forced to change their
religion and convert to Islam," said
Gill.
Initially, Rinkle was one of the many
cases of conversion in the region and
the government had taken the
incident lightly, as an influential leader
of the ruling PPP was behind it.
But members of the Hindu
community continued with their
struggle and succeeded in forcing the
authorities to lodge a case by staging
protests, with shopkeepers striking
and demonstrators blocking a
highway.
The case garnered support from the
international community when United
States Congressman Brad Sherman
wrote a letter to President Asif Ali
Zardari [ Images ], asking him to take
all necessary steps to bring an end to
the harassment of minorities in
Pakistan.
Gradually, Rinkle's case received
support from some members of
parliament and attracted extensive
media coverage.
Dr Azra Fazl, a member of the Pakistan
National Assembly and sister of
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari,
stated in Parliament, "Hindu girls were
kidnapped and held against their will
in Sindh madrasas".
Dr Fazl warned that the court needed
to assess the mistreatment of minority
communities in Pakistan and protect
their rights.
Akram Masih Gill has called for strong
legislation against forced conversions,
stating that it is required to protect
minorities. According to Gill, such a
practice is against the injunctions of
Islam, as the Shariah prohibits forced
conversions.
Nafeesa Shah, another member of the
National Assembly from Sindh, has
endorsed the idea and said that
parliament should introduce
legislation on forced conversions.
"Protection of minorities should be
ensured as enshrined in the
Constitution," Shah added.
But according to Mian Mitho, if the
PPP was seen as being responsible for
introducing the legislation, it would
greatly damage the party's chances in
the next general election.
He claimed, "Pakistan is an Islamic
Republic. Since Faryal Shah (Rinkle)
had said she had converted of her
own free will, a ban on conversion is
redundant."
According to the National Commission
for Inter-Religious Dialogue and
Ecumenism, Pakistan is home to
nearly 39 lakh Hindus. Most members
of the minority community belong to
impoverished agricultural families.
Some human right activists claim that
nearly 10 Hindu families leave Pakistan
each month due to the insecurities
attached to belonging to the minority
community.
With the case of Rinkle making its way
to the powerful Supreme Court, the
Hindu community is hopeful about
finally getting justice on the issue of
forced conversions.
History of Bangabhumi Andolon:
Bangabhumi, also known as Bir
Bango, is a Hindu republic in
southwestern Bangladesh envisioned
by many groups, such as the Swadhin
Bangabhumi andolan and the Banga
Sena.
The movement was founded in 1973,
soon after Bangladeshi Banga Sena,
Kalidas Baidya the leader of banga
Sena claims numerous recruits are
ready for armed conflict,
independence, yet did not gain much
support.
Ideology:
According to their thought, they claim
that Hindus made up 30% of the total
population of East Bengal (present
day Bangladesh) in 1947. However,
after the partition, the Hindu
population went down to 19% in
1961. In 1998, it was down to 16% and
in 2002 it was less than 10%.
Therefore, starting from 1998, within
four years, the Hindu population
decreased 6%. On the other hand,
the minority population in the
neighbouring West Bengal has
increased from 12% in 1947 to thriving
24% in 1991 according to Census of
India. In addition, a new amendment
in the citizenship law of India has
passed, restricting Bangladeshis and
Pakistanis to become Indian citizens.
Therefore, the refugees who entered
India after the creation of Pakistan
(including 1971) have become illegal
in India.
New Conspiracy:
In an interview with BBC in 2001,
Chittaranjan Sutar, one of the alleged
organisers of the movement, denied
any existence of the movement at that
time. The movement openly became
active again on 2003 when it declared
the independence of Hindu Republic
of Bangabhumi or "Hindu Republic of
Bir Banga" & its "capital" at Shaktigarh
in the Chittagong hills.
Bangabhumi is the proposed
name of a homeland for the Hindus
who had migrated to India from East
Bengal in the past. It is stated that one
and half crore Hindus uprooted from
the basins of Rivers Padma, Meghna
and Madhumati who were forced to
leave the area on account of
economic deprivation and communal
riots, now claim to have a right to
settle in their own motherland. The
state is planned to comprise of the
districts of greater Khulna, Jessore,
Kushtia, Faridpur, Barisal and
Patuakhali of Bangladesh.
The total area of proposed
Bangbhumi:
20 thousand square miles which is
more than one third of the total area
'of Bangladesh. The border of
Bangabhumi runs in the north along
River Padma, in the east along River
Meghna, in the west along India-
Bangladesh border and in the south
along the Bay of Bengal.And now in
present declaration Chittagong is also
included in this state.
The flag:
The flag of proposed Bangabhumi
state comprises of one third green
colour and the two third of saffron
colour. In the middle of the saffron
colour is the white sun. On the top of
the stand is' a circle.
National Anthem:
The National Anthem is the famous
song of poet Dijendra Lal Roy: 'Dhana
Dhanye Pushpe Bhara, Arnader Ei
Basundhara'. (This land of ours filled
with crops and flowers).
National Symbol:
The National Symbol is depicted by a
green circle in another saffron
coloured circle with word 'Sri',
(Symbol of beauty and prosperity)
written in the saffron circle.
The state policy:
The state policy proposed to be
adopted ~s non-communal and
humanism. The name of proposed
radio station is 'Bangabani' keeping in
line with 'Akashvani' and its' call sign
is 'Joy Banga' in line with 'Jai Hind' of
India.
Armed wing:
An armed wing of the organisation
named 'Bangasena' has also been
formed. The Commander of this
armed force is Mr Kalidas Vaidya. The
main organiser and trainer of
Bangasena is Arun Ghosh. The only
condition for enlistment in
'Bangasena' is that the recruit should
be a resident or had been a resident
or born in East Bengal. If either of theanswers is in affirmative then he isconsidered eligible to be enlisted in'Bangasena'
Tirot Sing, also known as U Tirot
Sing, was a king of the Khasi people in
the early 19th century, who ruled in
Nongkhlaw, part of the Khasi Hills. His
title was Syiem — a constitutional
head sharing corporate authority with
his Council, generally representatives
of leading clans within his territory.
Tirot Sing fought against British
attempts to take over control of the
Khasi Hills. [1][2]
He died on 17 July 1835. [3]
Anglo-Khasi War and Martyrdom
The British already had gained control
over the Brahmaputra valley after
concluding the Treaty of Yandabu in
1826. [3] Between their possessions in
Sylhet and the newly acquired
possessions in Lower Assam
intervened the Khasi Hills. They
wanted to construct a road through
this area to connect Guwahati with
Sylhet to save weeks of travel and
malarious country. David Scott, the
agent to the British Governor-General
for the Northern Territory, found out
that U Tirot Sing was interested in
regaining possessions in the duars in
return for the permission for the road
project. After a two day session of the
durbar (court) the assembly agreed to
the proposal of the British. Work on
the road was started. When Balaram
Singh, Raja of Ranee, disputed U Tirot
Sing's claims to the duars, he went
with a party of armed men in
December 1828 to establish his claim.
He was confident that the British
would support him, but instead was
confronted by a party of sepoys who
blocked his passage. [1] When news
came that the British were reinforcing
forces in Assam, U Tirot Sing
convened a Durbar again and passed
orders for the British to evacuate
Nongkhlaw. The British paid no heed
[4] , and the Khasis attacked the British
garnison in Guwahati on 2 April, 1829.
[3] His men killed two British officers,
and thus unleashed the fury of British
retaliation. Military operations against
U Tirot Sing and other Khasi chiefs
were started immediately. In the
Anglo-Khasi War, the Khasis lacked
firearms and had only swords,
shields, bows and arrows. They were
untrained in the British type of warfare
and soon found that it was impossible
to engage in open battle against an
enemy who could kill from a distance.
Instead, they resorted to guerrilla
activity, which dragged on for about
four years. [1] Tirot Sing was captured
by the British and deported to Dhaka ,
where he died on 17 July 1835. His
death anniversary is commemorated
every year in Meghalaya .
